Artwork of the Week.......

For my first blog during my time here at the Arab Museum of Modern Art, I have been asked to write about one of the artworks that will be displayed in the Inaugural Exhibition, due to open this December. Although this task seemed simple, choosing one artwork from over two hundred proved to be quite difficult. There were many different pieces which stood out to me; some appealing, some disturbing, and some mysterious.

However the work I chose was this untitled torso by an artist named Said Al Adawi. A less well known artist from those in the exhibition, little information can be found on the artist. He was born in 1938 in Alexandria, Egypt, and died there in 1973. Said completed a masters degree in the Engraving of Arabic Calligraphy (1972) and exhibited in Alexandria and Cairo.

What initially drew me to this painting was how distinctly non Arab it appeared to me. Many of the other paintings and sculptures in the opening exhibition have obvious and shared Arab themes, whether they are portrayals of communities, families, or landscapes. A common style is also apparent in some of the artist’s work, which contain recognisable Arab architecture, forms and settings. A fair amount of the artworks also incorporate Arabic script in the work, or as with the Hroofyah works, Arabic script is used to create the art form. These kinds of features were what I had expected to find while studying modern and contemporary Arab art here at the museum. What was interesting about this painting however, was the way it broke these expectations down. I thought studying early Islamic art at university this year had given me a good introduction into Islamic art, but what I have found is that modern and contemporary Arab art, although with its inheritance of past traditions, is actually very innovative and original.

I found this painting interesting because of its sculptural qualities and the depth this creates. To me it appears more as a relief rather than 2d shapes on a flat surface. Its abstracted and bulbous features together form a whole which is defensive and yet powerful. The marble tones used create an appealing texture that makes the form emerge as tangible. The sandy hues, echoing desert landscape, emphasise this, and add a rough edge. These tones also complement the shadowy greys/blues in the background which generate the depth in the painting.

Despite the abstraction, the sculptural treatment of the figure makes it seem quite life like. However, the featureless and blank face creates a loss of identity, and adds a kind of mystery and eeriness to the painting. There is thus something comforting in the forms familiarity, and yet something disturbing in its anonymity.

The frame created by the over sized and folded arms forms a protective barrier between the viewer and the torso. The more detailed hands which curve inwards draws our attention to this barrier, which lends a kind of authority to the painting.